Désirée E. Polyak
Minerals Information commodity specialists collect and analyze information on production, trade, and consumption of minerals from raw material through refining to finished products. Mineral commodity specialists can answer questions on these aspects of a mineral commodity.
Professional Experience
Physical Scientist (Mineral Commodity Specialist), U.S. Geological Survey, Reston, VA (2007-Present)
Geoscientist, U.S. Geological Survey, Reston, VA (2003-2007)
Graduate Research Assistant, University of Massachusetts, Amherst (2000-2003)
Education and Certifications
Master of Science (MS) in Geoscience, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, 2003
Bachelor of Arts (BA) in Geochemistry, Mount Holyoke College, South Hadley, 1999
Science and Products
Filter Total Items: 25
Mineral commodity summaries 2014 Mineral commodity summaries 2014
Each chapter of the 2014 edition of the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Mineral Commodity Summaries (MCS) includes information on events, trends, and issues for each mineral commodity as well as discussions and tabular presentations on domestic industry structure, Government programs, tariffs, 5-year salient statistics, and world production and resources. The MCS is the earliest...
Authors
Water Resources Division U.S. Geological Survey
Coalbed-methane production in the Appalachian basin Coalbed-methane production in the Appalachian basin
Coalbed methane (CBM) occurs in coal beds of Mississippian and Pennsylvanian (Carboniferous) age in the northern, central, and southern Appalachian basin coal regions, which extend almost continuously from Pennsylvania southward to Alabama. Most commercial CBM production in the Appalachian basin is from three structural subbasins: (1) the Dunkard basin in Pennsylvania, Ohio, and northern...
Authors
Robert C. Milici, Desiree E. Polyak
Mineral commodity summaries 2013 Mineral commodity summaries 2013
Each chapter of the 2013 edition of the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Mineral Commodity Summaries (MCS) includes information on events, trends, and issues for each mineral commodity as well as discussions and tabular presentations on domestic industry structure, Government programs, tariffs, 5-year salient statistics, and world production and resources. The MCS is the earliest...
Authors
Water Resources Division U.S. Geological Survey
Mineral Commodity Summaries 2012 Mineral Commodity Summaries 2012
Each chapter of the 2012 edition of the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Mineral Commodity Summaries (MCS) includes information on events, trends, and issues for each mineral commodity as well as discussions and tabular presentations on domestic industry structure, Government programs, tariffs, 5-year salient statistics, and world production and resources. The MCS is the earliest...
Mineral resource of the month: rhenium Mineral resource of the month: rhenium
Rhenium, a silvery-white, heat resistant metal, has increased significantly in importance since its discovery in 1925. First isolated by a team of German chemists studying platinum ore, the mineral was named for the Rhine River. From 1925 until the 1960s, only two metric tons of rhenium were produced worldwide. Since then, its uses have steadily increased, including everything from...
Authors
Desiree E. Polyak
Mineral Commodity Summaries 2011 Mineral Commodity Summaries 2011
Each chapter of the 2011 edition of the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Mineral Commodity Summaries (MCS) includes information on events, trends, and issues for each mineral commodity as well as discussions and tabular presentations on domestic industry structure, Government programs, tariffs, 5-year salient statistics, and world production and resources. The MCS is the earliest...
Authors
Water Resources Division U.S. Geological Survey
Mineral Commodity Summaries 2010 Mineral Commodity Summaries 2010
Each chapter of the 2010 edition of the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Mineral Commodity Summaries (MCS) includes information on events, trends, and issues for each mineral commodity as well as discussions and tabular presentations on domestic industry structure, Government programs, tariffs, 5-year salient statistics, and world production and resources. The MCS is the earliest...
Authors
Water Resources Division U.S. Geological Survey
Mineral Commodity Summaries 2009 Mineral Commodity Summaries 2009
Each chapter of the 2009 edition of the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Mineral Commodity Summaries (MCS) includes information on events, trends, and issues for each mineral commodity as well as discussions and tabular presentations on domestic industry structure, Government programs, tariffs, 5-year salient statistics, and world production and resources. The MCS is the earliest...
Authors
Water Resources Division U.S. Geological Survey
Mineral resource of the month: iodine Mineral resource of the month: iodine
The article focuses on iodine, its benefits and adverse effects, and its production and consumption. It states that iodine is essential to humans for it produces thyroid hormones to nourish thyroid glands but excessive intake could cause goiter, hyperthyroidism or hypothyroidism. U.S. laws require salt iodization to help prevent diseases. Chile and Japan are the world's leading iodine...
Authors
Desiree E. Polyak
Mineral Commodity Summaries 2008 Mineral Commodity Summaries 2008
Each chapter of the 2008 edition of the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Mineral Commodity Summaries (MCS) includes information on events, trends, and issues for each mineral commodity as well as discussions and tabular presentations on domestic industry structure, Government programs, tariffs, 5-year salient statistics, and world production and resources. The MCS is the earliest...
Authors
Water Resources Division U.S. Geological Survey
Mineral Commodity Summaries 2007 Mineral Commodity Summaries 2007
Published on an annual basis, this report is the earliest Government publication to furnish estimates covering nonfuel mineral industry data. Data sheets contain information on the domestic industry structure, Government programs, tariffs, and 5-year salient statistics for over 90 individual minerals and materials.
Authors
Water Resources Division U.S. Geological Survey
Mineral Commodity Summaries 2001 Mineral Commodity Summaries 2001
Published on an annual basis, this report is the earliest Government publication to furnish estimates covering nonfuel mineral industry data. Data sheets contain information on the domestic industry structure, Government programs, tariffs, and 5-year salient statistics for over 90 individual minerals and materials.
Authors
Water Resources Division U.S. Geological Survey
Non-USGS Publications**
Polyak, Desiree E., Vanadium: Mining Engineering, Annual submission for years 2020-2024 https://me.smenet.org/vanadium/.
Lowery, C. M., Leckie, R. M., Bryant, R., Elderbak, K., Parker, A., Polyak, D. E., Schmidt, M., Snoeyenbos-West, O., & Sterzinar, E., 2018. The Late Cretaceous Western Interior Seaway as a model for oxygenation change in epicontinental restricted basins. Earth-Science Reviews, 177, 545-564. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.earscirev.2017.12.001.
**Disclaimer: The views expressed in Non-USGS publications are those of the author and do not represent the views of the USGS, Department of the Interior, or the U.S. Government.
Historical statistics
Historical statistics
2025 Critical Minerals List
2025 Critical Minerals List
Science and Products
Filter Total Items: 25
Mineral commodity summaries 2014 Mineral commodity summaries 2014
Each chapter of the 2014 edition of the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Mineral Commodity Summaries (MCS) includes information on events, trends, and issues for each mineral commodity as well as discussions and tabular presentations on domestic industry structure, Government programs, tariffs, 5-year salient statistics, and world production and resources. The MCS is the earliest...
Authors
Water Resources Division U.S. Geological Survey
Coalbed-methane production in the Appalachian basin Coalbed-methane production in the Appalachian basin
Coalbed methane (CBM) occurs in coal beds of Mississippian and Pennsylvanian (Carboniferous) age in the northern, central, and southern Appalachian basin coal regions, which extend almost continuously from Pennsylvania southward to Alabama. Most commercial CBM production in the Appalachian basin is from three structural subbasins: (1) the Dunkard basin in Pennsylvania, Ohio, and northern...
Authors
Robert C. Milici, Desiree E. Polyak
Mineral commodity summaries 2013 Mineral commodity summaries 2013
Each chapter of the 2013 edition of the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Mineral Commodity Summaries (MCS) includes information on events, trends, and issues for each mineral commodity as well as discussions and tabular presentations on domestic industry structure, Government programs, tariffs, 5-year salient statistics, and world production and resources. The MCS is the earliest...
Authors
Water Resources Division U.S. Geological Survey
Mineral Commodity Summaries 2012 Mineral Commodity Summaries 2012
Each chapter of the 2012 edition of the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Mineral Commodity Summaries (MCS) includes information on events, trends, and issues for each mineral commodity as well as discussions and tabular presentations on domestic industry structure, Government programs, tariffs, 5-year salient statistics, and world production and resources. The MCS is the earliest...
Mineral resource of the month: rhenium Mineral resource of the month: rhenium
Rhenium, a silvery-white, heat resistant metal, has increased significantly in importance since its discovery in 1925. First isolated by a team of German chemists studying platinum ore, the mineral was named for the Rhine River. From 1925 until the 1960s, only two metric tons of rhenium were produced worldwide. Since then, its uses have steadily increased, including everything from...
Authors
Desiree E. Polyak
Mineral Commodity Summaries 2011 Mineral Commodity Summaries 2011
Each chapter of the 2011 edition of the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Mineral Commodity Summaries (MCS) includes information on events, trends, and issues for each mineral commodity as well as discussions and tabular presentations on domestic industry structure, Government programs, tariffs, 5-year salient statistics, and world production and resources. The MCS is the earliest...
Authors
Water Resources Division U.S. Geological Survey
Mineral Commodity Summaries 2010 Mineral Commodity Summaries 2010
Each chapter of the 2010 edition of the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Mineral Commodity Summaries (MCS) includes information on events, trends, and issues for each mineral commodity as well as discussions and tabular presentations on domestic industry structure, Government programs, tariffs, 5-year salient statistics, and world production and resources. The MCS is the earliest...
Authors
Water Resources Division U.S. Geological Survey
Mineral Commodity Summaries 2009 Mineral Commodity Summaries 2009
Each chapter of the 2009 edition of the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Mineral Commodity Summaries (MCS) includes information on events, trends, and issues for each mineral commodity as well as discussions and tabular presentations on domestic industry structure, Government programs, tariffs, 5-year salient statistics, and world production and resources. The MCS is the earliest...
Authors
Water Resources Division U.S. Geological Survey
Mineral resource of the month: iodine Mineral resource of the month: iodine
The article focuses on iodine, its benefits and adverse effects, and its production and consumption. It states that iodine is essential to humans for it produces thyroid hormones to nourish thyroid glands but excessive intake could cause goiter, hyperthyroidism or hypothyroidism. U.S. laws require salt iodization to help prevent diseases. Chile and Japan are the world's leading iodine...
Authors
Desiree E. Polyak
Mineral Commodity Summaries 2008 Mineral Commodity Summaries 2008
Each chapter of the 2008 edition of the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Mineral Commodity Summaries (MCS) includes information on events, trends, and issues for each mineral commodity as well as discussions and tabular presentations on domestic industry structure, Government programs, tariffs, 5-year salient statistics, and world production and resources. The MCS is the earliest...
Authors
Water Resources Division U.S. Geological Survey
Mineral Commodity Summaries 2007 Mineral Commodity Summaries 2007
Published on an annual basis, this report is the earliest Government publication to furnish estimates covering nonfuel mineral industry data. Data sheets contain information on the domestic industry structure, Government programs, tariffs, and 5-year salient statistics for over 90 individual minerals and materials.
Authors
Water Resources Division U.S. Geological Survey
Mineral Commodity Summaries 2001 Mineral Commodity Summaries 2001
Published on an annual basis, this report is the earliest Government publication to furnish estimates covering nonfuel mineral industry data. Data sheets contain information on the domestic industry structure, Government programs, tariffs, and 5-year salient statistics for over 90 individual minerals and materials.
Authors
Water Resources Division U.S. Geological Survey
Non-USGS Publications**
Polyak, Desiree E., Vanadium: Mining Engineering, Annual submission for years 2020-2024 https://me.smenet.org/vanadium/.
Lowery, C. M., Leckie, R. M., Bryant, R., Elderbak, K., Parker, A., Polyak, D. E., Schmidt, M., Snoeyenbos-West, O., & Sterzinar, E., 2018. The Late Cretaceous Western Interior Seaway as a model for oxygenation change in epicontinental restricted basins. Earth-Science Reviews, 177, 545-564. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.earscirev.2017.12.001.
**Disclaimer: The views expressed in Non-USGS publications are those of the author and do not represent the views of the USGS, Department of the Interior, or the U.S. Government.
Historical statistics
Historical statistics
2025 Critical Minerals List